Mar 3, 2011 at 4:00 am

Dreadful Sorry, Clementine

Southern Hospitality and Low Prices Aren't Enough

Tony Perez
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Comments

1
wow I am really glad my wife and I ate there before I read your unbiased opinion-the food was great whether on a Sunday morning or for dinner -the staff was terrific -I'm not an
art critic but I liked the old southern pics thought they were interesting-I picked up the
Mercury saw Clementine and thought I"d check it out-next time I'll forget the Mercury and
just go eat.........
portland1972 on March 3, 2011 at 8:00 AM Report this
2
That was just mean.
ZeRedHead on March 3, 2011 at 9:02 AM Report this
3
Sorry, this review is spot on. The food was about as good as you'll get at Denny's, totally overcooked out-of-the-can food. There is no reason I'll ever go back.
lucydog3 on March 3, 2011 at 10:48 AM Report this
4
Good Service in SE Portland.....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!
homo666 on March 3, 2011 at 3:40 PM Report this
5
I live in this neighborhood and while I agree Clementines is not that great, it is sooooooooo much better than the place that was there before it - Mother Mabel's - that I'm willing to forgive them a little bit.
emhuru on March 3, 2011 at 7:28 PM Report this
6
This is definitely the Cattiest review I have seen in a long time. I have not had the pleasure (or displeasure) of dining at Clementine's, but this review will definitely not be the deciding factor. It was very entertaining to read, but clearly written more for effect than for content.
Gregormiz on March 4, 2011 at 12:42 AM Report this
7
Really? "Possibly unsalted" is your idea of a bad thing? And you wonder why so many restaurants in Portland salt all their food into oblivion, heart disease be damned...
Stu on March 4, 2011 at 5:22 PM Report this
8
he was served terrible food, what should he have written? I for one like the honesty. I was a bit perplexed by Tony's writing when he first took over for PAC, but it's "end of the spectrum" reviews like this that let you know a reviewers palate. As far as "catty" goes, I don't see it....what he did was not pull any punches. Which he doesn't owe to anyone to begin with. I am really quite sick of the "well, if it's good I'll write it up but if it sucks I just won't say anything" cheerleading that passes for food journalism these days.

C.O. on March 5, 2011 at 8:48 PM Report this
9
I had a remarkably similar experience to Tony's several months ago. Nearly all of the grievances he airs in this report reminded me of my own underwhelming meal - not the least of which was the vegetables. Stu, you may be right about Portland being a bit salt-heavy at other locations, but let me assure you that my vegetables were also entirely unseasoned. Salt should be there to bring out the natural flavors in a dish, and without at least a touch, these vegetables really do taste straight from a Flav-R-Pak bag. Tony is spot on about the powdered gravy as well. In fact, the catfish was probably the only thing that I can really say felt like it was prepared by a human at all, and it could easily have been prepared by a line cook instead of a professional chef.

Thumbs down. Not angrily, but decisively.
Iscariot on March 6, 2011 at 8:56 AM Report this
10
I haven't been there, but just wanted to join the chorus of people who saw nothing wrong with this review. And as always, the people who are whining that it's unfair to criticize things just aren't making their case very well.
on March 7, 2011 at 9:41 AM Report this
11
There's nothing wrong with Tony's review. Like others have pointed out, he's spot-on. @emhuru: Would be interesting to know what is so much better than when it was Mother Mabel's. The cook is the same and the menu's basically the same. @lscariot: It probably was prepared by a line chef -- there are no professional chefs at Clementine. And you probably know the old saying, If it looks like it came from a Flav-R-Pak bag and it tastes like it came from a Flav-R-Pak bag, guess what?? I had the highest hopes for this place when it first opened but unless they replace this cook post-haste and get someone in there who really knows how to cook, they aren't going to mke it. The only thing the current cooks really seems able to do well is intimidate the owners (past and present) into thinking she can cook at anything other than a greasy spoon, truck-stop level.
on March 13, 2011 at 7:37 PM Report this

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